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The Spectacle Blog
Albert Pujols, a St. Louis Cardinal since 2001, is heading west to Anaheim via the Gateway Arch. Pujols has signed a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim worth between $250 and $260 million.
My first reaction is did the Angels just pay in excess of a quarter of a billion dollars for a DH? Pujols has played the bulk of his career at first base. But the Angels have a talented young first baseman in Mark Trumbo who finished runner up in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. (Interestingly, both Pujols and Trumbo share the same birthday - January 16th.) Of course, they could move Trumbo to left field and DH Vernon Wells. But even if Pujols plays first base for the Angels this season, I think he will become a full time DH in the not too distant future. In which case, the Angels overpaid him and for far too long.
Don’t get me wrong. Pujols comes to Anaheim with Hall of Fame credentials. He enters the 2012 season with a lifetime batting average of .328 with 445 homeruns and 1329 RBIs. Pujols not only has a good chance to pass Barry Bonds on the all-time homerun list (if A-Rod doesn’t get there first) but pass Hank Aaron for the all-time RBI lead with 2297. He’ll also likely reach the 3,000 hit mark to boot.
But if Pujols is relegated to the DH spot and Angels become a second division team then they could be put in a position where they have a tight budget which keeps them from maintaining a viable minor league system and acquiring established big league role players because of their obligation to Pujols not to mention his no trade clause. Then, of course, Pujols could also follow Ken Griffey, Jr’s path and get hit by the injury bug. Of course, that’s a risk in free agent signing or major trade but in Pujols’ case it is a big one.
It appeared that Pujols would sign with the Miami Marlins. However, the Marlins withdrew their offer yesterday after they and Pujols apparently could not come to an agreement over a no trade clause. It would have been great to see Pujols and Mike Stanton hit three-four in that lineup. But the Marlins have reeled in several free agents including closer Heath Bell (2-years, $27 million), Jose Reyes (6-years, $106 million) and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle (4-years, $58 million) who is reunited with Ozzie Guillen after the briefest of separations. The Marlins will be a force in the NL East in 2012.
As for Pujols, his signing intensifies the rivalry between the Angels and the Texas Rangers in the AL West. Between 2002 and 2009, the Angels were the class of the division reaching the post-season six times including a World Series title in ‘02. But for the past two seasons the Rangers have won not only won the AL West but have won two AL pennants only to fall short in the World Series. Rangers fans have painful memories of Pujols’ three homeruns in Game 3.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Angels also landed ex-Rangers ace lefty C.J. Wilson for $77.5 million over five years. Wilson joins a starting rotation that already includes Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana.
So where does this leave the defending World Series champion Cardinals? First, La Russa retires and is succeeded by Mike Matheny. Now Pujols leaves. Who will be given the unenviable task of filling Pujols big shoes in St. Louis? Can the Cardinals expect lightning in a bottle from Lance Berkman again? Can Matt Holliday recoup his falling offensive production? Is David Freese a flash in the pan? On the other hand, Allen Craig has some big pop in his bat and has a bright future ahead of him. Adam Wainwright will rejoin Chris Carpenter at the top of the rotation. Jason Motte could be a dominant closer for years to come. Nevertheless, the Redbirds have entered the post-Pujols, post-La Russa era.
As for Pujols, I think the Angels benefit from him for the short term but I’m not so sure about the long term. But for the moment, the halo shines bright.
View all comments (12) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/12/08/pujols-goes-to-anaheim
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james wilson| 12.8.11 @ 1:46PM
The Angels essentially signed the best hitter since Ruth for 40 something million a year over six years, four years for free. They need to bury the Dodgers right now as LA's team, not the Rangers.
Reid Smith| 12.8.11 @ 1:51PM
Well, it looks like I can't complain about that Ryan Howard contract anymore.
RJ| 12.8.11 @ 3:08PM
Its a big day in Orange County. Yes, the Angels may have paid too much and I am concerned that Pujols production dropped last year. Nonetheless, the capturing CJ Wilson and Pujols really improves the team for the coming season.
Wayne| 12.8.11 @ 5:39PM
The Cards are now like the Bulls after Jordan.
Larry| 12.8.11 @ 10:16PM
I wonder if Pujols will move his restaurant in St. Louis to L.A. Or will he just open another one? Lol!
Larry| 12.8.11 @ 10:12PM
Artie Moreno has always been a guy who has overpaid, because he wants to win so much. They can't break the habit, because when they haven't spent, they haven't won their division. As a Reds fan first and a Rangers fan second, my reactions are as follows: (1) I'm glad to get Pujols out of the Central Division and the National League; (2) Remember the Phillies? Who have paid tons of money to Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, etc? How did they do last year? Still don't have a championship? And the Yankees? Who spend money like it's going out of style? Only one championship in ten years? So I'm not really worried about who wins the Winter League meetings - especially the Angels. The game is still played on the field, and this year there will be two wild card teams in each league with a chance to imitate the Cardinals of 2011. The motto will be: just make the playoffs.
RJ| 12.9.11 @ 2:31AM
Gene Autry was another Angel owner who overspent. I think it came from his Hollywood background - pay top dollar for the biggest stars. The problem is in baseball, the biggest stars usually are at the top of their game and can only go down. I prefer to see a team built through the minor leagues.
Nonetheless, Orange County is very happy today. The Angels did something unexpected and the fans are overjoyed.
somnolence| 12.9.11 @ 7:13AM
Pujols has seen his best days. As far as being "the greatest hitter since Ruth", he isn't even as good a hitter as Frank Robinson. I wonder how much Robinson could command today from the Orioles after the Triple Crown year he had in 1966 after being traded from the Reds.
somnolence| 12.9.11 @ 7:29AM
Yes, I know he has a higher batting average(so far) than Robinson, but feel free to compare the eras of pitchers each faced. Starting pitchers in 1966 completed far more games than now(most teams had only one or two ace relief pitchers), and the DH wasn't around yet. All of this reminds me about the time I was listening to Harry Caray interview George Sisler on the radio years ago, and Caray had the nerve to ask Sisler "could Ruth hit this day's pitching"? Sisler replied Ruth could hit ANY day's pitching. Pujols is also going to have to go a ways to match Ted Williams, never mind Ruth. But I'm used to hearing this absurdity all the time.
AVCurmudgeon| 12.9.11 @ 1:18PM
All this is one more object lesson -- as if one were needed -- that paying megabucks for a star who is just about past his prime (can anyone say "Kevin Brown"?) to play longer than anyone can reasonably expect him to is the wrong way to go about building a team. The Angels are headed for the cellar, which is a shame because I have come to enjoy them more than the Dodgers.
Aaron Goldstein| 12.9.11 @ 2:49PM
I don't think the Angels are headed for the cellar in the immediate future. Not with a starting rotation featuring Weaver, Haren, Santana and now Wilson. I would be far more concerned about the Angels when the second half of Pujols contract kicks in 2017.
RJ| 12.9.11 @ 4:12PM
I generally agree with you about signing high priced free agents at the peak of their career. However, if the Fed keeps issuing more "counterfeit" money to try turn away the bad debt crisis, the later years of Pujols's contract may not be very expensive at all. The government seems intent on destroying the value of the dollar.